Do y'all agree with me that this will be there photo that airs in the little intro segment at the start that says '12 teams of 2 etc'. I couldnt remember what its called so I will call it their intro segment shown on every episode

I think you mean the headturns?

The shot of them fishing would probably be used to, because it would suit the David and Mary-esque vibe that we all seem to be getting.

Aww, they are so cute together! And yay for a Virginia team! As Mary and David showed us, these guys can surprise us all! Can't wait to see how they do!

In all fairness, David and Mary were carried a long way by the Cho Bros.

That's very true. They were very lucky not to get eliminated on Leg 1. If it weren't for Vipul & Arti's bad taxi, they would have been gone then, and nobody would have been so in love with them like they are now.

Remember how they were on All-Stars? I find it hard to believe anyone would still be in love with them now.

I have to say something about this. But to keep things on topic first, i hope Linda and Steve STAYS for Leg 1, even though they do look like they can be killed on Leg 1. (eliminated)

As for David and Mary, all i can say is LUCK is an important factor in this race. If it weren't for many teams stupidity, Charla and Mirna wouldn't survive to the final 3, as for teams like Ron and Kelly, Derek and Drew, Linz Family and many other teams who could all be eliminated on the first leg.. but because of sheer luck, survived and Linz Family even went on to win the race. So, nice people are David and Mary, and sure there's fans like me who love nice teams like them. Okay i'm done.

But i really hope LUCK is with Linda and Steve to not be the first eliminated.

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"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

Martinsville Couple Lands Spot On CBS Hit "The Amazing Race" A Martinsville couple will be one of 11 teams to be featured in the coming season of 'The Amazing Race'.

Martinsville, VA -- A Martinsville couple will be one of 11 teams to be featured in the coming season of 'The Amazing Race'.

Steve and Linda Cole live and work in Martinsville, Virginia. Linda, 52, is a customer service supervisor. Her husband, 43-year-old Steve Cole works as a carpenter.

The couple says they met when Steve went with a date to Linda's house for a party. Linda asked her brother to keep his date occupied while she asked Steve out. They have been together ever since and married for 17 years. They both have children from previous marriages, but treat all of them as their very own.

The 'Amazing Race' is on for local residentsThree area residents compete in the CBS reality show airing Sunday.By Sharla Bardin

On your mark, get set, go globe-trotting.

That's exactly what three area residents got the chance to do when they competed in CBS' "The Amazing Race" to win $1 million.

Martinsville couple Steve and Linda Cole and Lynchburg resident Mel White and his son, Mike, are contestants in the new season of the reality TV hit that premieres Sunday.

They were among 11 teams competing in the race, which included stops in nine countries in 22 days.

Production has wrapped on the season, but White and the Coles can't reveal much about the race now because of waivers they signed to avoid spoilers.

Still, they did open up about their love of travel and how "The Amazing Race" was the trek of a lifetime.

Shock and awe

Steve and Linda Cole are always up for an adventure.

They've traveled to Belize, Panama, Costa Rica and in the United States. They've also cruised the Caribbean and climbed an active volcano in Guatemala.

"I enjoyed the countries that are a little bit more impoverished," Linda Cole said. "It makes you really grateful for what you have and it makes you want to give and do more for others."

She supervises customer service representatives at a company in Martinsville, and her husband is a carpenter. They also have three grown children from previous marriages.

Both say they love seeing different places and meeting new people. "The Amazing Race" allowed them to do both.

"We were willing to do whatever it took to get on the show," said Steve Cole, 43. "It just meant that much to us."

He has been a fan of the series since it began, and applied in May 2008 for the couple to compete. They also made a three-minute video for the application process and, later, went through interviews in California.

The couple was ecstatic when they got the go-ahead to race.

"I was thrilled and shocked and scared and everything at one time," said Linda Cole, 52.

Her husband added, "There was so much excitement, but it just didn't click what we were doing until we were actually racing."

They also had to keep their journey hush-hush from friends and family, except to inform a few in case of an emergency and for legal purposes.

"That's one of the hardest secrets I've ever kept," Linda Cole said.

The Coles say another cool thing about the competition was meeting Mel White, a fellow Virginian.

White, 68, is a gay activist, clergy member and founder of Soulforce, a gay-rights group. He raced with his son, Mike White, 38, a filmmaker and actor whose work includes writing and starring in the 2003 comedy "The School of Rock." Mike White lives in California.

Mel White had watched the show occasionally, but it was his son who applied to compete.

Mel White, who jokes that he felt like "Father Time" during the race, said he was grateful to share the experience with his son.

"Mike said to me, 'Dad, we want to win. We want to compete and do the best we can.' "

But there was a catch.

His son told him if they weren't enjoying the race, they should stop.

"That was his rule from the beginning, and it was a perfect rule," Mel White said.

The father and son have traveled together before, including on family trips to Hawaii and China.

"Travel, to me, it's like learning a language. It opens up another world," Mel White said. "Going across the world has changed me for the better."

Expect adventure, drama

Now, the contestants and their family and friends are eager to see the show.

"We know what they filmed. We don't know what they will show or won't show," Linda Cole said. "A lot of it is going to be a big surprise for us, as well."

The couple can also relive the adventure.

"The experience, in itself, is just incredible," Steve Cole said. "I'm so thankful that we were given the opportunity."

The Coles and Mel White also believe viewers will be fascinated by the racers.

Teams included brothers who are stunt men, flight attendants, Harvard lawyers, former NFL cheerleaders and the show's first-ever deaf contestant and his mother.

"They're all fantastic," Mel White said. "I think the audiences will just love these teams."

They also promise a lot of excitement.

"I think this season is the most dramatic," he said. "The things we did no human on Earth would be asked to do them, and we did them. And they were fun."

The Martinsville couple selected to appear on The Amazing Race television program started getting in shape for the challenge months before they were selected to be on the show.

Preparation or advance planning typically goes against their grain. “We’re spur of the moment people,” Steve Cole said of he and his wife, Linda.

The new season of the show premieres tonight, and the Coles will be one of 11 teams competing in The Amazing Race 14 to mark the 14th race.

When Steve Cole hit on the idea in May to apply for The Amazing Race, they committed to getting ready physically for what could be a grueling ordeal if they were selected.

A reality TV game show, the Amazing Race features two-person teams who have some form of personal relationship. The teams follow clues to travel to and within different countries to try and finish the race first. The winners are awarded a large cash grand prize — typically $1 million, according to online information.

An application and eligibility requirements can be downloaded at the Web site of CBS, which airs the program. Applications for the Amazing Race 15 must be received by 5 p.m. Feb. 24.

While the Coles admit winning the prize money would be nice, the adventure was a bigger lure. They realized preparation was key.

“I lost 35 pounds. I wanted to make sure I could run. Steve also taught me to swim,” Linda Cole said.

They went to the YMCA “three or four times each week” for 60-90 minute sessions, Steve Cole said. “We would walk and run the track some. We practiced walking. We were constantly swimming and walking,” he said.

The two wanted to be ready “just in the rare instance that we did get picked. We thought it would be best to be prepared, to be the best we can be,” Linda added.

They could not discuss specifics, such as whether the training paid off.

Two or three months later, in May, the Coles were called to Los Angeles for an interview. While there, Linda Cole said they also received physicals and other medical tests.

“After LA, we knew we were part of the way (toward being picked for the show), but we didn’t know” if they would make the final cut, Steve Cole said.

Four to six weeks later in midsummer, “we got the call” and learned they had been selected to compete, Linda Cole said.

The wait for that call “was the hardest part,” Steve Cole said, but a second challenge then presented itself.

“We had to be quiet about everything,” Linda Cole said, adding it was hard “to have such a big secret.”

Only two family members — one in each of their families in case of an emergency — and their employers knew the truth, Steve Cole said. He is a carpenter, and Linda Cole works at a call center.

On The Amazing Race, teams will be shown “traveling one of the most grueling courses ever assembled on the race — spanning 40,000 miles and nine countries in just 22 days,” according to CBS.

The Coles will compete with a group of racers that include “brothers who are stuntmen, a pair of flight attendants, a brother/sister team who are Harvard lawyers, an accomplished feature film writer/producer/actor and his father, a team of former NFL cheerleaders and the race's first ever deaf contestant and his mother,” according to CBS.

For the first time, teams will travel to Romania and Siberia, as well as Switzerland, India, People's Republic of China, Thailand and Russia “before hitting the finish line in Maui, Hawaii,” according to CBS.

Team members “will be faced with a multitude of extremes, including the world’s second tallest bungee jump, bone-chilling Siberian temperatures followed by the suffocating heat of India, and an Olympic-sized challenge that leaves teams gasping for air,” the network stated.

Although the Coles cannot talk about their experiences on the show, and more specifically whether they won or lost, the couple still can hardly believe their good fortune in being selected.

I think they remind me alot of David and Mary.. and i just can't help rooting for them to fly under the radar each week!

Yeah that Joab!

I don't know. I love the underdogs. I had a fun time rooting for Meredith/Gretchen, Lyn/Karlyn, Ronald/Christina when they just flew under the radar and impressed us with what they can do. Although they didn't win.. they sure made an impression on us as being the perservering underdogs.

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"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

Linda and Steve were the self-proclaimed "hicks" on The Amazing Race 14, but in actuality they were much more than that. Though the long-term couple didn't perform all that well over their two legs on The Amazing Race, they were one of the most easily likable couples. Most of all, they were real. Steve, especially in the first leg, had a difficult time masking some of his disappointment with Linda. However, the strength of their relationship shined through, with Steve openly ashamed of his behavior and the couple remaining positive and loving, even while clearly disappointed and emotional after their elimination from the race. This morning, we had the pleasure of speaking with Linda and Steve about their time on the race.

Do you two have any big plans for the future? Anything you'd like to let us know about?

Land of the Lost: "Fatal Error" Did in Amazing Race's Steve and LindaFeb 23, 2009 09:13 PM ET by Joyce Eng Be the first to leave a comment

Steve and Linda, The Amazing Race 14 Linda Cole went off the beaten path down the mountain and found herself and her husband, Steve, off The Amazing Race 14. "It was probably just as painful to watch it as it was when it happened," Steve tells TVGuide.com. Navigating mountain paths wasn't the only thing that cost them a spot in the final nine though. The married couple of 17 years opened up to us to shed more light on how they ended up on that troublesome leg, why they signed up for the Race in the first place and who they're rooting for to win the $1 million.

TVGuide.com: Linda, why did you decide to do the Roadblock?Linda: When it first came up, it was paragliding, so I thought you pretty much just glide down the mountain. I was like, "Well, I can do this." Well, unfortunately, you can blame it on the wind. [Laughs] I decided not to wait and go down the mountain, and I am not a runner. Unfortunately, I don't run well. I got lost on the mountain. I tried to climb back up, I went down fire trails and by the time I got down the mountain the second time, I didn't know where I was. I mean, it was just a mess.Steve: If we knew we would end up running that, we never would've let her do that. I would've done that.

TVGuide.com: How far did that set you back?Linda: Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I was lost in the mountains for four hours with no water or anything. Steve will know the time when the last team came down the mountain, which was Jodi and Christie, who were on the last flight an hour behind us, and I think it was, like, 25 or 30 minutes.

TVGuide.com: How did you get that car ride back up the mountain, Linda?Linda: I stopped a car to get directions and she offered me a ride. So I figured the worst-case scenario would be I would get a penalty, so it was just a risk I took.

TVGuide.com: It's a moot point because you were eliminated, but would you have gotten a penalty for the car?Steve: We don't know. We probably would have. We weren't the only team to get lost on the mountain. There were several other teams, and I know there was at least one other team that, I was told, got a car ride, so they would've been penalized.

TVGuide.com: Did you guys get lost after you left the mountain? All of the sudden, the shots were at night and it had been 14 hours since the Pit Start.Linda: The problem was after we did the pies, you had to get the little sawed-off piece of wood. You had to go around the lake and then back into this little town area. After four hours of running on that mountain, I could hardly walk, so that slowed us up a lot.Steve: I didn't realize Jodi and Christie had already done their pie-throwing and they were going to the wood-cutter. I think that's when we passed them. But that was a good sign that we saw them because they were still there and there's still a whole lot that can happen. But then we ended up going to the wrong town looking for the wrong castle for the Pit Stop. There was another city that was, like, two letters off. So that threw us off. When we got to the castle, we could not figure out how to get in this thing.

TVGuide.com: Did you try to climb the gate like Mike did?Steve: If I had seen the gate, I would've kicked it open! [Laughs] You had to park in a specific parking place, but the lots were opposite of where the signs said they were. So we drove all the way to the end and checked every entrance possible. Where Mike was, we were actually right there, but we didn't see Phil there. So we ended up in this long alleyway.

TVGuide.com: How far behind — or maybe even how close — were you to Jodi and Christie?Linda: They immediately sequester you when you get in there, but we heard it was about 30 minutes.

TVGuide.com: On the first episode, things were a little tense between you guys. On this week's episode, things seemed to have calmed down. But Linda, you said you were afraid Steve would yell at you for getting lost.Linda: I didn't want to disappoint him. I knew that he was so stressed and I didn't want to let him down. I was upset with myself. I knew I had made a fatal error. Also, what people don't realize is — people always say, "Why would you do that? You're so out of shape!" and this and that. But I lost 35 pounds before we started. I learned how to swim. I started climbing ladders to get rid of my fear of heights. I still wasn't where I needed to be, but I was a lot closer to where I needed to be. I really did try to prepare myself for the race.

TVGuide.com: Why did you decide to do the Race?Steve: We've been fans from Season 1. We just love the thing. It's one of those things where you watch something like this and you say to yourself, "I would never do that." Like Jodi and Christie carrying the stick: "Why would they do that?!" Actually what they did wasn't stupid at all, it's just the way the clue read.

TVGuide.com: Right. The clue doesn't always tell you everything Phil tells us on TV.Steve: Exactly! It's a clue and you have to interpret that clue. So you sit at home and say, "I can do that." So I said to Linda, "Let's do this. We can do it. We won't make these stupid mistakes." And I found out later that a lot of mistakes are from people who thought they wouldn't make any! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: I thought what you did last episode was so brilliant — when you tied the three cheeses and got all of them down the hill in one trip.Steve: We were really far behind and that's when reality set in at that moment that this was a competition and if we didn't do something right then, we were gonna be out of it. That's when we really kicked it into gear and started competing. The clue said you must use the carriers, but it didn't say how. So between the two of us — I don't remember who — we came to the conclusion that we should make a sled and I'll carry three and you carry one so we make one trip. If we had to make two trips, we never would have made it. That was desperation thinking. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Who's your favorite to win now?Linda: The way I feel about it is this: Everybody on the race is fantastic. I mean, they are competitors. They're tough, they're strong, they're smart. You go through so much emotionally, physically. The ones I want to win are the ones that win because they deserve it.Steve: The ones that work for it. It's not like we have a favorite team or a team we want to lose. It's just whoever wins it deserves it because they didn't get there by making a lot of mistakes. They got to that point by being good and they deserve to win.http://www.tvguide.com/News/Amazing-Race-interview-1003274.aspx

Following a tumultuous first round that included an argument about their lack of speed and a second round highlighted by a missed direction marker that led to four-hour trek down a hill that could have been completed in a quarter of the time, Steve, a 43-year-old carpenter from Martinsville, VA, and his wife Linda, a a 52-year-old customer service supervisor, became the second couple to be eliminated from the CBS reality series during Sunday night's broadcast.

On Monday, Steve and Linda spoke to Reality TV World about what led to their now-infamous argument in Switzerland and how they patched things up between the two, exactly why Linda ended up taking nearly twice the time of anybody else to get down the hill in Germany, and which contestant they may have seen breaking one of the show's rules.

.................

Reality TV World: About how long did you have to wait for a car to pick you up down on the highway, and how long was the ride back to the tram station?

Linda: You know, the thing was we weren't really allowed to do that. But after being lost for so long I figured we were probably out of it. I'd been up and down the mountains again and through fire trails and everything else trying to find my way back to where I had missed the arrows. So finally I went back down the mountain again and waited to ask for directions because I had no clue where I was.

A good lady offered me a ride and I was like 'Well, you know we're probably out of it already anyway so if I gotta take penalty it's not really gonna hurt a whole lot because I've already wasted so much time." I had to get back in the race somehow, so I was ready to take a penalty if that's what it meant.

Steve: But we didn't realize 'till later that she wasn't the only one who took a car. (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Oh, she wasn't?

Steve: (Still laughing) No.

Reality TV World: Who else did?

Steve: From what I understand Kris did.

Linda: I don't know for sure, I don't know for sure.

Steve: He was one of the first ones to get lost, and he also made the mistake that he ran down the hill with the keys, and at the bottom of the hill by the [tram] your car is parked in one area but you had to wait at the clue box in another area. So since Kris had the keys when he actually got down to the clue box then he had to run all the way back to the car just to get the car. I know that he got pretty lost and I think he ended up taking a car ride.

And I forget if it was two or three other teams that had gotten lost, so it wasn't just Linda. Those signs were kinda low.

The Amazing Race Exit Intervew: Steve And Linda Are Lost In Emotion by Sara Bibel

Steve and Linda Cole were this years designated country folks on The Amazing Race. The self-admitted huge fans of the show hoped to follow in the footsteps of rural TAR All Stars David and Mary. Unfortunately, the duo had problems from the start with both the physical and emotional challenges of the race. Linda dealt the team a fatal blow when she got lost on a hiking task. In an interview this afternoon, the duo sat down to discuss their brief experience on The Race.

Linda, how much time did you lose when you went the wrong way down the mountain?

About four hours. I got lost pretty good. I wasnt even sure which side of the mountain I was on. It was pretty crazy.

Were you concerned when you accepted a van ride back up the mountain that youd be assessed a time penalty?

I was very concerned about that, but I didnt see any other way to get back because I didnt know where I was at that point. I was walking down a road. I didnt know if I should go left or go right. I had gone back up the mountain, walked a couple of fire trails. I was afraid that I was going to get even more lost so I went back down the mountain again. Thats when I stopped the van. The lady offered to give me a ride. I thought it had been four hours. Were probably out of it. If we get a time penalty it probably wouldnt kill us anyway. I was just feeling so down at that point because I thought there was no way we could catch up with anybody else.

Steve, what was going through your mind when everyone else came down the mountain except Linda?

There were a few teams that started before she did coming down the mountain. There was one or two others that got lost also. When they came in I was like, Maybe theres hope after all. There was three teams that came in on the later flight. When they started coming in I knew there was a real problem. They said it would take an hour to get to the bottom. Lindas slow so I figured it would take her two hours. When it hit hour three I was starting to get concerned. Jodi and Christie were the last team to come down, and they were 20 or 30 minutes before Linda came in. At that point I realized, Hey. were not out of this thing. Were still in it.

So you two were really nipping at Jodi and Christies heels?

Linda: At the end when we got to the pie throwing, we realized there was still a chance. That brought up our hopes for a while. We didnt realize that they were carrying a block of wood around, bless their hearts.

Steve: When we got off the mountain I wanted to stop and get Linda a drink. That was our first priority. Then after we did that we got directions and started across the mountain. I guess we did real good with all of that and wed actually caught up. I didnt realize until we passed them at the challenge. From the time we did the pie throwing contest to the woodcutter, we had to run like another ten minutes. It was hard after Linda had been on the mountain for so long. Her run slowed to a walk.

Linda: Jodi and Christie were great. When we passed them they said, Good luck, even thought hey knew they were up against us. They were so supportive. Youve got to give them a lot of credit for that.

How close behind them were you when you came in to the Pit Stop?

Linda: Twenty or thirty minutes, I think. We didnt see when they came in because they were still looking for the castle.

Steve: We had two issues after we went to the woodcutter. We went to another little town. That slowed us up some. Then, after that, when we got to the castle we could not find out how to get in the place. When we figured it out it was a god awful long walk.

Steve, you were very emotional when Phil eliminated you. What was going through your mind?

Steve: I wanted it so bad. I wanted to be on the show. I wanted to do well. When Phil said, Youre eliminated, its like everythings over, thats it. Your emotions just run so high. Youll be on an extreme high one minute and an extreme low the next minute. We got into an argument the first night and I felt bad about that. My whole mood changed after that night. We woke up and we started fresh. We were more supportive.

A lot of fans thought you had a volatile relationship after watching the first episode. Was the second episode a more accurate portrayal?

Linda: Absolutely. I know that I am not a physical person. I didnt want to let Steve down on the first leg of the race. God bless Jennifer and Preston. I feel bad that they were the first ones out, but I didnt want us to be the first team out. It was a lot of pressure and a lot of stress. I was trying real hard. He wanted me to do good. He was getting frustrated. I totally understand where he came from.

Steve: Part of that argument was it was a long run to get to the church. We got into a footrace with Chris and Amanda and we didnt do too well. That was where we started bickering with each other. The second thing was when we signed in, Jodi and Christie had signed the book twice. When I read the book it looked like we were in 11th when we were actually in 10th. It seemed like we were always in last. We didnt want to get eliminated first. The pressure was just really on. It brought the worst out in me.

Steve, you seemed concerned that the other teams wouldnt respect your intelligence. It was even an issue between you and Preston and the Elimination Station. Looking back on it, do you think the other teams treated you well?

Steve: We had problems communicating with the other teams. Mike and Mel were very nice and forthcoming with any information. When we were on the autobahn they stopped and waited for us to follow them. Kisha and Jen didnt want to help us. I think its because they thought we were slow and couldnt keep up with them.

Linda: It didnt help that we had the argument the night before because that showed that I was slow and of course no ones going to want to get hooked up with a team that has a handicap. I understand where everyone was coming from.

Steve: Preston and Jennifer and Chris and Amanda aligned pretty quick. They got the flight before we did. We were on the outskirts. We really didnt get to know them on the first leg. Different people have different agendas. I was hoping that wed meet a few people and race with them. That wasnt some of the others agenda.

What advice would you give to future competitors on The Amazing Race?

Steve: (laughing) Stay off the reality forums because they bash you. The Race doesnt start when Phil says go. The race starts when you fill out the application and you make a videotape. You have to start early. You cant wait for them to say youre on the Race. You have to be competitive before it starts.

How did going on the Race change your lives?

Linda: We got to go some wonderful places. We still speak with all the cast. We made some great friends. I kind of feel bad, like we let CBS down. I wish we did better for the person that fought for us to get on the show. Thats a little tough.

Steve: I think a lot of that is still in the unknown right now. Even after the Race it has been an emotional roller coaster. We did things that we were planning to do together. Even though theres some uncertainty, I think theres positive things in the future.

Linda: On the Race you say and do things to each other that you normally wouldnt do.

There were a few teams that started before she did coming down the mountain. There was one or two others that got lost also. When they came in I was like, “Maybe there’s hope after all.” There was three teams that came in on the later flight. When they started coming in I knew there was a real problem. They said it would take an hour to get to the bottom. Linda’s slow so I figured it would take her two hours. When it hit hour three I was starting to get concerned. Jodi and Christie were the last team to come down, and they were 20 or 30 minutes before Linda came in. At that point I realized, “Hey. we’re not out of this thing. We’re still in it.”

Weren't there only two teams on the last flight? Maybe just a mistake.btw great job Steve and Linda. Almost caught up!

Both Linda and Steven are well traveled. The two had a very scary experience traveling through Guatemala where they were robbed of all their money and identification. Luckily they were resourceful enough and found their way back to the states without too much hassle.

Can someone explain this from their CBS bio. When they were boarding the plane on Episode 1 they stated "We haven't every been out of the USA before so its a huge hurdle to overcome", so tell me how this doesn't apply as international travel for them!

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